“Walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:1,13-25)

Galatians 5:1,13-25

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Pastor Tom Johnson, June 26, 2016

In our reading from Galatians, Scripture calls us to “Be guided by the Spirit.” The New Testament word here is “walk about by the Spirit.” “Be guided makes it sound more passive like we need to wait for the Spirit to make the first move. But here we also have the responsibility to take the initiative. We are to "walk about"—to journey through this life with intention—with purpose—and with a mission to do some good to others for the glory of God—to live our lives by the power and strength of the Holy Spirit. In other words, “Live a life that manifests the Holy Spirit’s presence and activity in your life.” Walk the walk. As Christians, we should do less harm. As believers and followers of Jesus, we should be grow to be a blessing those around us. As God’s people, we should be more like Christ.

But the problem with simply asking anyone—even Christians—to just “walk the walk” or “be more like Jesus” is that it is not that easy. It’s not as simple as you or I deciding that we are going to live better and godlier lives. God does not ask us to merely do better or try harder. Scripture calls us into a struggle. Paul describes walking by the Spirit as a battle. He says, “the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.” When we believe in Jesus, we take up the sword of the Spirit the Word of God. We walk by faith, not by sight. There is a war going on between God and our old human nature. Our old self wants to live for itself and its own pleasure.

It’s a sad reality of our broken, human condition that we naturally want to live for ourselves. We want, in Paul’s words, to “gratify the desires of the flesh.” We get sidetracked by our own little world where the only thing that matters is what I need and what I want. What follows is what we call “sin.” We see the list right there in black and white in our reading from Galatians. The list is not intended to be comprehensive or exclusive—any activity that damages a healthy relationship with God or with one another is a work of the flesh. We are living under the power of the old sinful nature when we, either by negligence, laziness, or malice do those things. This is, as Paul does, simply to remind us of the Golden Rule: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

But we no longer have to live our lives consumed by our own needs and desires. Jesus died and rose again to give us the freedom to love God and one another as he wants us to do. We now get to live out our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit! Jesus sent the Holy Spirit into our lives to give us the desire and the ability to live transformed lives. The Holy Spirit sets himself against our old nature and our old ways. The Holy Spirit has drowned the old self in the water of baptism. The Holy Spirit empowers us through prayer and the reading and hearing of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is the one who has begun a good work in us. And as Scripture boldly says, “I am confident that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philipp 1:6).

The Holy Spirit has done mighty things in our lives. He has forgiven our sins. He has adopted us as daughters and sons of God. He assures us of eternal life. It only makes sense that if God forgives our sins in the past and guarantees our eternal life in the future that he also cares about our lives in the meantime. And so our Scripture says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us walk by the Spirit.” If we have been given life by the Spirit, then we should also conduct our lives by that same Spirit. If we are led by the Spirit, we will love our neighbor as ourselves. We will fulfill the Royal Law because that is what the Spirit does.

A few weeks ago, my family and I were driving across the country to Yellowstone National Park.
Since we were pulling a trailer, we had to frequently stop for gas. I had perfected the art of timing—looking at the map and filling up just when needed. All was going really well and as planned until the rolling hills of west Iowa started to empty my tank at an alarming rate. I watched as the needle on my fuel gauge quickly dropped and counted down the miles to the next gas station. Just a few miles from the next stop, and at the top of long hill, I was able to coast to a little more than three-fourths of a mile from the gas station. Daniel and I went on an unexpected morning run, filled a borrowed gas can, and filled the car. This is external dependency—fuel reliant car—energy bound up in that liquid gold. I’m a big fan of hydrogen and electric driven cars. In any case, a car relies on something it cannot generate itself.

And so it is with the Holy Spirit who works in our lives now. He gives us new life, forgiveness, and eternal salvation—by faith. We hear and read God’s Word and the Holy Spirit fills us up and gives us the fuel we need to proceed forward. When we encourage each other as sisters and brothers in Christ…when we pray for each other trusting in God’s promises, the Holy Spirit gives us the strength and sustaining power that we need. When we receive the bread and the wine—the Body and the Blood of Jesus—the Holy Spirit strengthens and preserves our faith. “If we live by the Spirit, let us walk by the Spirit.” God the Holy Spirit has made us alive. And he leads and propels us forward to live out our lives in love for each other and glory to him.